Apr 16, 2012

High heat is dangerous for chickens and measures must be taken by their caretakers to ensure their well-being, particularly when temperatures increase suddenly or exceed 85° F. Heat stroke, heat-induced stress and death can result when a chicken is overheated.

Lucy has her wings spread away from her body to facilitate air circulation closer to her body.

In temperatures over 90° F, keep a bucket or tub full of cool, water (not cold) near the flock at all times. If anyone begins to look overheated, panting, wings away from its sides, droopy, lethargic or pale in the wattles and comb, IMMEDIATELY submerge in the cool water up to its neck to bring its body temperature down. This simple measure can be lifesaving.

Even if chickens are not in danger, this can be a welcome relief to chickens that would not voluntarily wade into water.

Hose down the roof of the coop and areas around the

coop frequently to facilitate evaporative cooling.

Locating the coop underneath trees made this coop

15°cooler inside than out on this particular day.

The normal body temperature of a chicken ranges between 104°-107°F, which it must regulate without the benefit of sweat glands. It does this primarily by employing evaporative cooling techniques. Body heat is lost through combs, wattles, legs, droppings and its wing-pits (I made that term up, but...you get the drift). When temperatures reach the mid 80s, a chicken will begin to pant, spread its wings away from its body, begin limiting its activity and reduce its feed intake.

TIPS TO BEAT THE HEAT

TWEAK RATIONS

Switch from layer feed (16% protein) to grower feed (18-20% protein). Since a chicken will eat less feed in the heat, providing laying hens with a ration higher in protein will allow them to eat less overall volume while continuing to meet their daily nutritional needs. Laying hens should always be provided with oyster shell free-choice to ensure strong eggshells.

It is critical to provide clean, cool water to chickens in hot weather. Keep waterers in shady locations and supply additional water sources wherever possible.

Bring the water TO THE CHICKENS. If they have a favorite, shady rest area during the day, place waterers near them. Chickens shouldn't have to travel far to drink and will drink more if it is convenient to do so.

Refresh the water supply often throughout the day-will not drink water that is as few as ten degrees warmer than their body temp.

NOTE: Due to increased water intake on hot days, a chicken's droppings can appear loose/watery/runny, which is completely normal. The passage of large amounts of water through the digestive tract is a method by which chickens cool themselves internally. Smart, right? This process is known as excretory heat transfer.

Provide a wading area with a kiddie pool, sled or shallow pan of water

for chickens inclined to stand in it.

For chickens not partial to wading pools, flood areas of high-traffic so they must walk through it.

Spray the run with water often throughout the day.

Employ misters in shady areas. Misters work by "flash evaporation" to cool the air. The lower the humidity, the COOLER the air, the higher the humidity, the less relative cooling, but the air will still be COOLER in the misted area and the surrounding area than without a mister. You can expect a temperature drop of 10-20° F in 40-80% humidity with a mister in the chicken yard.

SHADE

Cover the run with a tarp, roof, shade cloth, banana leaves- whatever you've got- to keep the sun from baking the ground.

These ornamental grasses provide shade and keep the ground cool for the chickens during the heat of the day. They grow very quickly and the chickens neither eat them nor trample them. BONUS!

ICE, ICE BABY

Freeze various sizes of water bottles and jugs and add them to waterers throughout the day. Chickens will not drink water that is ten degrees warmer than their body temp.

Place a large, plastic bucket or trash can on its side in a shady spot, adding frozen water bottles/jugs inside it for chickens to rest alongside.

Freeze water in cake pans and place underneath stepping stones in the shade for the birds to lay on.

Waterer in the shade underneath a deck with a bottle of ice water in it.

INCREASE AIRFLOW

Prop open all coop doors and windows during the day, including the egg door, to promote airflow.

Add fans to the coop and run.

Place a frozen jug of water between the fan and nest boxes during the day and between the fan and roosts at night.

If it is too hot in the nest boxes, BLOCK ACCESS TO THEM to prevent hens from using them. Set up temporary nest boxes in a cooler location in the coop, in the run or outside the run. A milk crate, cardboard box, large basket- anything you can think of that has lots of ventilation can be used as a nest box.

An open, wooden box with some bedding will suffice when

it's too hot for hens to lay in the nest boxes.

LITTER/BEDDING MANAGEMENT

If using the deep litter/built-up litter system, remove it and replace it with clean, shallow bedding, pine shavings or sand.

Use sand in the covered run- it stays cool and and provides ample opportunities for laying in dusting holes- another mechanism chickens use to cool themselves.

As a general rule, avoid giving chickens treats when it's hot outside so as not to promote increased internal body temperatures from digestion. An exception is frozen fruit and vegetables (blueberries, strawberries, corn, squash, etc.) that can help cool and hydrate them. Watermelon is particularly helpful towards this end.

Apple cider vinegar should NOT be added to waterers during times of high heat. In a recently published blog post that reviewed the benefits of ACV to poultry, I asked Dr. Mike Petrik, a laying hen veterinarian with a Master of Science degree in animal welfare, his opinion of ACV in poultry waterers. In reply, Dr. Petrik wrote the following, which dictates AGAINST using ACV during high heat conditions:

In summary, during high heat conditions, baking soda facilitates calcium absorption while ACV inhibits it. SKIP the ACV in the heat, opting for an electrolyte solution instead, OR in lieu of electrolytes, add 1/4 cup baking soda per gallon of water.

It's not easy caring for chickens in the heat, but a little bit of planning and few, simple adjustments can make a big difference in their comfort level and their very ability to survive.

Going to Lowe's tomorrow to get a mister! Thanks for the idea! We have such hot summers here I didn't know what to do. Gonna also start freezing water bottles! Thanks for the 411!!! My chickens thank you!

what great timing I have just started freezing all of our soda bottles that we may get and have my kids saving their juice bottles, gator rade bottles ect. I store them in my deep freeze out in the garage. I also take the small water bottles you get from the store and freeze those and actually add them to thier water as I fill them up. I just place the lid back on and put then in the runs. They have cool water for a few hours atleast. LOVE the idea of putting them in an empty bucket tipped on its side for them to get into and cool off that way, and in the nest boxes. Now that one would have never crossed my mind to do lol. I am saving this post in my fav to remember the tips. Can I past any of the tips you may share that I think my face book chicken group could use. deana

I would have not known the frozen fruit but I have done the frozen veggies and they hardly touched it. It was a frozen cabbage on a string. They loveeeeeee cabbage but not frozen...why? Too hard or my girls are spoiled? lollllll

I can't stand the heat so I'm hoping I don't have to use any of these techniques! I've wondered if the chickens would like a little pool. I might try something like that for them. I'm sure they'll love the frozen foods!Thank you,Sarah

i have nothing original cause we get hot here in nc and have already researched ur blog because i know how much help u always are im going to use the springkler system and frozen water bottles along with most of the coops are set in the shade when its high heat time of the day!!!! ty by the way:)

In addition to water and shade, I give my girls treats such as frozen peas and watermelon. Last summer my 10yr old cousin complained that one of my white hens - Vanna White - stole her popsicle. I didn't believe her at first, but then she showed me the pecked popsicle and I saw that Vanna's face was COVERED in red. It was priceless! I wish I'd had my camera. We still laugh about it.

i freeze water melon in ice cube trays, i also use either frozen corn on the cob or bagged corn. I put frozen water bottles in their water containers My girls love it. i think this year i am going to invest in a mini ceiling fan!. Janelle Bulan

I am so worried about our Arizona summer heat! I plan to wet the run each morning, have plenty of fresh water available, we have already installed misters, and we may need to put a fan in the coop. I will also put frozen water bottles out and plenty of frozen fruit. The summer is scary for us newbies! Thanks for the great ideas! :)

I use kabob skewers--I run the kabobs through the chunks of watermelon and/or cantaloupe--then I freeze them. I stick them in the ground after they are frozen--the girls go crazy for the fruit and it is easy for them to peck--and keeps the dirt and grass off of the fruit. They love it.

I was actually more worried about the winter but now I think it's the heat I need to worry about. I'm going to get a fan to move that heavy humid air. Might have to get a Mister. My coop is in a very shady area too

I freeze 5 gallon buckets of water and I have a couple small kiddie pools around the yard I change the water a couple times and when I change it I pop in a big frozen ice cube. I also have tarps over 3/4 of their yard and a sprinkler system that runs during the afternoon.

We are planning on building a box with a roof on it(almost like a closed in sandbox) with mesh sides, to create an indoor dust bath (DE, dirt and pine shavings) so they have a cool place to "bathe" and play :)

Great post . I'm planning on adding a mister system to the run & a fan inside . I may even try putting frozen tiles laying around where they lay that's what I do for my rabbits and they love them so maybe the chickens will to :) fld20@yahoo.com

Our run is under the overhang of our house and we have some big trees so it is well shaded to begin with. I plan to mount a few fans to keep the humid chicago summer air circulating. Using your ideas of a mister and some frozen water bottles shoud keep everyone comfortable. Lots of great ideas for all us who are new to this - thanks!

Though I may live in Canada, our summers are still pretty hot. We've got a kiddie pool at the ready. I plan on saving up some water jugs and freezing them. I like that method because it's cheap and sounds pretty effective. Though our summers probably can't compare much to yours, I'm still preparing for a hot one! Down the edge of our lawn is a line of cedar trees, separating us from the neighbours. Plenty 'o dirt bathing in their! Plus, the chickens keep the soil in there nicely turned and the weeds down ;)

We will keep unused plastic trash can lids filled with clean water for them to wade in, along with frozen jugs of water and frozen foods placed around the coop/run. And extra water bowls/dishes.This is a great post with great ideas, we will try them throughout our hot W KY heat. Thanks!

To help my girls beat the heat I spray the dirt around the trees and in there run so when they dust bathe, they are cooling off! I also give them frozen friuts and vegetables that the ladies love! I have never though of putting a fan in the coop, but will definitely try that. Thanks for the great post:)

The Utah summers do not get excessively hot, but for the days in July it does I will have lots of frozen melons on hands. I am also growing vining plants up my coop and run because I read a women in Las Vegas covered her mobile home in them and her AC use dropped significantly. They insulate and absorb heat so it should work on the coop as well.

Well today was the first test for the girls! It was very hot here in NC so I provided lots of cool water and shade. There was a breeze but when there isn't I'll turn on a fan for them. I don't think that misters will help much when the humidity is at it's usual level (drenching!) but I'll turn on the kiddie sprinkler for them so they can have a play date in it! I also think I'll set a shallow pan of water for them to 'bathe' in.

been collecting my kids and hubbys water bottles for a month now gets pretty warm here in western nc and u gave me lots of new ideas on how to sneak them in places i hadnt thought of like the nest boxes great idea and ty!!!!

Thank you! Going to Lowe's tomorrow! Also freezing water bottles tonight! Was worried about what to do this summer besides getting a window ac for them. Which I'm still trying to convince my husband they need it! Lol! But until that happens your tips are life and marriage savers!!!

I help my chickens beat the heat by giving them lots of frozen treats. Their favorite is frozen berries. I gave them my strawberry scraps when I was done canning yeasterday and they looked dissapointed they were not frozen.

Great info you give. I am trying a few new things for my chickens. I have a lot more hens than I am getting eggs. So need to take some of your advice and change some things up. Thanks for all your help.

Thanks for the great tips! We have been putting them to use these past few weeks, it hit 108 here earlier this week! My chickies seem to be handling the heat much better than I am! :) Brit868@yahoo.com

Just got back from Menards with a Rain Bird mister system to keep the girls cool while I'm at work. I was just going to get a mister hose but decided this would work better since it has a timer and I can set it to go on and off durring the day.

As always, you have great tips! We are ready for this coming hot, hot weekend! I've got the mister ready and a couple of frozen water bottles ready. Of course, Murphy's law....our blower went out last night, so hopefully we will have our AC working before we melt!

Great ideas! We're expecting close to 100 degrees this weekend here in Northern Kentucky. I'll be using them! Thanks. Susan :) p.s. I can't figure out how to post this except anonymously :/ Dang! And I want to win the cute chalkboard!

We used a garden sprinkler last year, but I think I am going to make my girls a mister hose this year. I bet they will like it! I know my peacock will, he likes to be misted with the water hose anyway :)bluegrass_mama@hotmail.com

I once had a Russian boss who only drank hot tea in the summer because drinking cold water actaully makes your body temperature rise (something to do with making your body equalize the cold with your internal heat) but almost everyone has told me to give cold water to chickens in the summer- perhaps because their bodies are so small the water actually does cool them off? I have hens panting already and it hasn't even made it to the upper 90's yet (STL summers are hot and sticky). They have a box fan in the run and a small desk fan in the hen house (plus 2 sides of the hen house are plantation shutters that let the breeze blow through... doesn't seem like they should be this distressed this soon... will the adjust somewhat? Adorable chalkboard!

I'm not really sure of the answer the question of whether cold water cools off their bodies or not. Chickens do not care for warm water though, which is the primary reason for icing the water in the summer heat. We want to keep them hydrated and if they won't touch warm water, then it's impossible.

If the heat suddenly spikes vs a gradual warm-up, it's more difficult to them to adjust to the high temps. That's one reason why heat lamps in the coop are inadvisable in the winter (besides the fire risk). If the heat lamp goes out for any reason, the drastic drop in temperatures inside the coop can kill them.

Lots of good ideas here, thanks ! We'll need them this summer in Kansas. I always check your blog when I have questions, it is a great resource :) Please enter me for the chalkboard- love it ! Renee rlb_13@hotmail.com

Great tips! While I don't have a chicken coop (yet) I do have a "cat" coop as my boyfriend is allergic to cats. The cats love being outdoors in their condo which has an inside room and outside play area. While it only gets really warm here a couple weeks out of the year, the misters are a great idea to help keep them cooler! Thanks for sharing these tips for all our animals!

I loved the homemade tube that hangs for egg shell or grit. Im going to build one of those for my chickens. The frozen bottle in the water bowl is a great idea. Im so busy keeping my rabbits cool that the chickens are getting left out so Im making it my mission to keep my chickens cool this summer. Thank you for all the tips. Mister for the water great idea. Frozen fruits cant wait to try them on this. thanks

My chickens beat the heat by dust bathing and standing under the mister! They also will occasionally swim in our big INTEX pool. (okay, maybe not, but they should if they really wanna "Beat the Heat!") My email is: vanegas_massie@hotmail.com

Our coop is in the shade most of the day. Gave them watermelon~which is a favorite!! And we keep putting cold water in their water coolers. They love to nestle into the cool dirt, too. You have some great tips and we will be using some of those as well!hfparker@cox.net

I have a large carport in the poultry yard that they can gather under for shade. I wet the ground under it to keep it cooler. I also have plastic tubs and pools for them to soak their tootsies in to cool down. :)

My wonderful husband hooked up a misting sprinkler in the chicken run, we run it during the hot afternoons to cool it down, this also gets some water on top of the coop (which before reading your tips I didn't know helped to cool the coop) I open their window to allow a breeze to flow through the coop & I have frozen water bottles ready for those super hot days! They will also receive frozen corn on the cob & other frozen veggies & fruits!

Audrey, it sounds like you're doing everything right! There really aren't too many fruits or veggies that you have to avoid. Avocado pits and peel are off limits and raw potatoes that have any GREEN in them should be avoided in significant quantities. As a rule of thumb: if you wouldn't eat it, don't feed it to your chickens.

I've been using a lot of your tips this weekend. However, they are not so thrilled about the mister. They eat ice cold strawberries but, only if I hand feed them lol! I've been freezing blocks of ice and adding to the water a couple of times a day. As always, love your blog!!! downtownginab@aol.com

It's been hot, hot, hot here in Louisiana so far this SUMMER. My chickies are in a "special" tractor. We take care to move them in shady areas during the hottest part of the day, use a tarp to ensure extra shade and a sprinkler (which they LOVE). Thanks for all your "COOL" tips ;)

I have a good sized garden hose affixd to the top of the coop around the diameter of the coop. You can use post nails or heavy staples to secure. I have tiny tiny pin holes that I have made in the hose throughout it. When the water is turned on, there is a lovely gentle mist of cool water that sprays throughout the coop. Very light, no big puddles, just cools the air, and doesn't disturb the hens or make them afraid. So great for these hot summer months. I can turn the hose off at any time...but still leave the hose installed. It works!!

We like to take a long garden hose and affix it at the top of coop--around the entire diameter of the coop. You can use post nails or heavy staples to secure. Before you hand the hose, punch tiny tiny holes throughout the hose then hang. Turn on the hose and you will have a delightfully gentle mist throughout the coop--won't frighten the birds and they will have a coop that is pleasing during these hot summer months. You can turn the hose off anytime, and leave the hose installed on the ceiling... It works.

Took your advice and hit the grocery store the other day, freezing a variety of fruit to give the girls when our heat wave hit. Saw the hubby eyeing the treats, so I labeled them "Special Chicken Hydration Nuggets--Off Limits, Please Do Not Consume" or, "For the Chickens--Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide". He didn't tough the stuff! :-)

These are a lot of good ideas. I didn't realize eating made their body temps rise will defnately use the grower feed during the hotter days.. I will be serving frozen fruit and have the sprinklers going this summer so my girls will be able to stay cool.

My girls are still in the house with AC, when they move out they will be under total shade, ecxcept for when we go out for our daily walk abouts in the yard. I have been saving the large yougurt containers for freezing water in for them. Plan on giving them frozen veggies and fruits as well. Going to get misters to put on each side of their run area. Nothing to good for my sweet gals....:>)hardyhens14@yahoo.com

Thanks for the great info. We have HOT (and I mean Africa HOT) summers here in the valley. I have misters set up by their coop, but that just gets everything way too wet. I toss ice cubes in their water, give them frozen watermelon treats and leave the hen house wide open during the day.

Thanks for the great info. We have HOT (and I mean Africa HOT) summers here in the valley. I have misters set up by their coop, but that just gets everything way too wet. I toss ice cubes in their water, give them frozen watermelon treats and leave the hen house wide open during the day.

My chickens love melon. They eat every scrap even a lot of the rind. I always give half to the kids and the other half to the chickens. The chickens always get more because they don't care if they drop it.

Thankyou so much for your ideas. Many more there than I would have thought of, so I won't be adding more. I would have just though make up an ice-block with mixed grains in it for the chickens to peck at. Now I'm wondering what ideas might be good for my ducks next Summer too. I will definitely be employing some of your chicken ideas next summer (here in Australia we are about to go into winter). It was great to see your hen's boxes with their curtains, I had seen a previous post about getting your new curtains and I hadn't known really what you were doing with them, now I know! Sorry to digress from original topic, but around here coops don't seem anywhere near as fancy as in USA! I wish my Hubby would get fancy though. We are building a new run and trying to work out the coop for them in it.

I give the birds cold fruit, like watermelon rinds, spray the coop roof with the hose, and make them puddles on the driveway. Setting some trash can lids with water in them in the yard makes a safe and shallow waking place for the smaller birds, and it's easy to clean. Their little claws get so nice and white after a splash! My email is judy.beth@comcast.net

We're in central Florida, so it says hot most of the year. Our coop has a dirt floor, is located under a heavy canopy of shade trees, & is open on all four sides. The birds have plenty of fresh water on hand & get the same laying mash + veg. scraps, greens, left-overs, etc. they get the rest of the year. The heat has never bothered them as you describe, even when its been in the triple digits. If it did, I'd hose down the coop roof & surrounding area to encourage cooling by evaporation.

Even with all the ice, shade, misting, and other tricks, we still lost hens 2 days ago when it reached 106 in the Midwest. We currently have a patient in our garage whom I rescued- a barred rock hen. I drenched her in cool water and set her in the shade under a tree to let the breeze blow over her. She's currently resting in the cool garage in her own nest, completely pampered. I'm not sure when to put her back out into the coop since it's still so hot!

Even with implementing all these ideas, we still lost 4 layers in the 106 degree heat 2 days ago. Panting has become a normal thing around here, despite the misting, ice, and mint. *sigh* I rescued a barred rock hen that was close to death, and she's currently exploring our cool garage after a few days of pampering. Not sure when she'd be okay to go back outside though.

Here in our neck of the woods in Ohio it's 1:30 and 101. I opened the coop door and put a cattle panel there to block it so the horses and sheep don't try to get in...which they would if it weren't blocked. I make sure the water is clean and cool, and have added electrolytes. Smiling & Waving, Sharon

Thank you for all the information! Here in Michigan its cooler today, with only 79.9 degrees! Yesterday in the sun it was 122.7! I have plenty of ventilation in my coops, they can free range and find breezy, shady areas, ice cold water, and slushies with strawberry tops are on hand if needed!

We're at 91 degrees here in our part of Texas at 12:30pm...expected to top out around 99, according to the forecast...we keeps lots of water for drinking, wading, etc. & change it when it starts to feel warm. We freeze jugs of ice to add to the water pans, we spray the shady areas where they like to hang out, we also set our our nozzle to fine spray, and spray it into the air, then toss a few goodies under the spray to entice the chooks to walk through the spray. Freezing shallow pans of ice with treats in it is another trick I use...the chickens seem to enjoy pecking at the ice to get to their treats.

Thank you for all the wonderful tips! They will come in handy here in Michigan. Today's temp is only 79.9, but yesterdays was 122.7! (in the sun!) We have plenty of ventilation in the coops, the chickens can free range and find breezy, shady spots, and lots of dust bath areas. If it gets really warm again, we have slushies with strawberry tops ready for them.

I live in FL and it's supposed to be 94 here today. My chickens free range and we have a lot of shaded area for them. We also keep their water cold, give them frozen fruits in the heat of the day, keep an oil pan of water out for them to soak their feet, and have their waterers set up all throughout the yard, so they are always close to one!

I'm in GA and the Heat Index today is 105. A bit better than the last few days where it was 108. I freeze mashed bananas for my babies on a large baking pan. They absolutely love it. When they see me coming with the pan they all line up and are getting all excited. The frozen treat helps them to cool down from the inside.

I live in Illinois and it supposed to get up to 105 today. *whew* We fill milk jugs up with water and freeze them to keep the chickens cool. And refill the water with fresh, cool water several times a day.

I live in Illinois and it is supposed to get up to 105 today. *whew* We take milk jugs and fill them up with water and freeze to keep the chickens cool. We also refill the water with fresh, cool water several times a day.

I live in FL and we are supposed to get up to 94 today. I have a lot of ways to keep my chickens cool. They free range and we have a lot of shaded areas in the yard, we have several wateres spread out in the yard so they are constantly near one, we keep their water cold, give frozen fruits right before the heat of the day, have an oil pan with water in it for them to stand in, and keep electrolytes in their water.

We're at 91 degrees here in our part of Texas so far, forecast calls for a high of 99 today. We use most all of the above...LOTS of water stations throughout the yard, several shallow pans for wading. Spraying the ground to keep it damp in the shady areas...misting...ice in the waterers, etc. Frozen treat blocks...freeze ice in shallow containers with chopped or shredded veggies, like carrots, cabbage, squash (great way to use an over abundance of zucchini), etc.

It's not as hot as it has been...but we are at about 90 today in the Fingerlakes region of NY. I gave my gals and guys some nice cold water...and they are out chillin under the shade of the fruit trees :)

Great tips! Here in Minnesota it was 96 yesterday and expected to be about 95 today. Both days were cooler than what we had earlier this week! The humidity is down a bit today, however, so that helps a bit. I have been spraying my ladies' run to make a nice muddy area for them to play in. They really like that. I have also been giving them cool watermelon, cool tomato innards (scraps from something I was making), and their favorite was frozen fruit mixed in with yogurt. I also added electrolytes to their water and keeping the water cool. Haven't tried frozen water bottles yet though. My free-ranging older hens found a nice cool place in the middle of my haystack where the bales weren't pushed together. I found several of them squeezed in there on Wednesday!

Kathy we live in upstate NY its 90° here today & my husband installed a misting run system last night that ive turned on a few times today already.. also add ice water jugs in front of fan in coop to keep it cooler in there and we also add ice cubes to water bowls for them!! -Donna Rogers

Here in Dover, AR, it is currently 103. Yesterday it was 106. I'm sure by the end of the day we will pass that. It is HOT, Hot, Hot!!! I have nipple drinkers as well as large tubs of water available for my chickens. They are able to walk in the tubs to cool off and the nipple drinkers offer them continually clean water (if they so choose that option). Some prefer drinking just from the large tubs of water. I have a fan in each pen all on HIGH! The pens are in shade for most of the day. In the heat of the day I put frozen bottle waters in the tubs of water. I throw in ice cubes from time to time on the ground to help cool them down even more. I provide water melon as well to help the stay hydrated and it's a nice treat for them.

Another 100+ day here in NC. No relief in sight until Monday so I have a fan blowing through the coop 24/7 and wet down the run a couple of times a day. I would love to try some electrolytes in their water and I've been on the lookout for a mister like the one you have!

I am a newbie chicken momma and am so happy to have found your blog and FB page. My silkies would love to win treats. :) Thanks for offering all the great information that you do. It's truly helpful. I can spend waaaayyy too much time reading about how to take care of these fuzzy little clowns.

Last summer was awful for my chickens....days and days of high heat....we had serious losses. I walked out one day to water down the runs and coops and refresh water and one hen was laid out in the run and another one right next to her was weaving and about to topple over. I dropped the water hose and ran in an scooped up both hen and ran back out to a dog box that was sitting in the shade and had bedding in it.....I put both hens in and grabbed the water hose and started spraying them down. It was just minutes until both looked like they were better but I left them in the dog box under a tree with the wet bedding and water in it for quite a while. I had already lost at least ten hens in three different coops over six weeks. Our coops are made of tin from an old barn so they do get heated up with the sun. Ventilation is good however. Frozen bottles were used everywhere. Gallon jugs in the coops....sometimes three or four. Water bottles in nests next to the nests they laid in...up against the walls. I think hens sitting in a nest were most vulnerable to the excessive heat. Some coops were worse than others. There are two big ones and one small one that ended up (in the expansion) being under a huge oak tree. The chickens in those three faired better. This year I have plans to make 'shade' in the worst coop. I even have a patio umbrella that was pulled out of a trash heap that I am going to set up in the yard....maybe cut the post it sets on off a little before setting it. Not short enough for them to fly up on....or think they can. Going to put the turtle sandbox up under one side so it will get some shade.....maybe put frozen bottles in it during the heat of the day. We have a satellite dish in that coop on it's side that provides great shade....until the temps get really excessive like last year....then they get up under it real tight and the heat really gets them.....will be working on that too this year...maybe put branches up under that would keep them from actually laying against the fiberglass. ALL your points were good ones, some I already use and some that I will be using this year....going to have to look into misters.

Thank you for the tips! We have been using the drinker nipples for several months...they are a great help as I don't have to scrub waterers daily, but some of the larger birds, light brahmas especially, act as if they don't get enough water in hot weather ... I added a conventional waterer back to their pen. Any thoughts?

Last year my chickens looked to be suffering a little bit. This year, I'll be ready, thanks! The lemon balm & mint tip is great. I have tons of both growing in my garden. It was my mom's garden & she has all kinds of cool stuff that's been established forever. Lavender, thyme, all kinds of mint, catnip etc...

We lost a hen to heat last year. Each day we had been putting out a mister and on this particular day the heat soared hours earlier than normal, before we had it out and on. She died in my arms. I hope to never have that happen again. Thanks for the info on prevenative measures. Would love to win the hen treats. ;-)

Ultimately, you have to do what you believe to be the right thing to do. I cannot imagine that a thirsty bird would walk away from a source of cold, clean water. My feeling is that if they're thirsty, they'll drink until they're not.

Thanks for all the tips. I did some of them last year after learning off the internet. Didn't know about not giving treats in the warm weather but I like the frozen treat idea because even in upstate NY we get very hot days some summers.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful tips. You listed so many great ideas! I think this year we might get a mister. Seems like it would be very helpful. Thanks also for the giveaway; please enter me in the drawing!

As always, a very informative post. While cold has been more of a concern for me than excessive heat, the occasional heatwave does hit us in the summer and I'm so glad you posted this. I've pinned the post so I can refresh my memory when the time comes. Thank you!

Really good tips- as usual!!! I know my chickens are like little kids when it comes to water- they LOVE to play in it. During the summer I would put large plant saucers (the ones that go under under the pots) in the coop and fill them with water. They LOVED it. I guess it cooled their feet and feathers or something but they couldn't get enough! :)

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